The FTSE 100 was firmly higher on Monday as the escalating conflict in the Middle East kept oil prices at elevated levels, providing support for oil majors BP and Shell.

London’s leading index was 0.4% higher at the time of writing, with Entain topping the leaderboard following an upgrade to full-year guidance for its US joint venture with MGM.

After weakness going into the weekend, most FTSE 100 shares were higher, and US futures were pointing to a stronger start to cash trading.

“European shares were surprisingly resilient against a backdrop of uncertainty,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. 

“Helping to prop up FTSE 100 was continued strength in oil prices as tensions remained high in the Middle East. Crude oil rose 1.1% to $72 per barrel, driving shares in FTSE heavyweights BP and Shell and taking the broader market upwards in the process.

“Global oil prices jumped last week after Israel attacked Iran, raising concerns about major disruptions to supply. Despite a weekend of violence between the two countries, investors showed no signs of panicking, judging by movements in financial markets on Monday. Future prices imply a positive day for Wall Street when US markets open later on.”

Some analysts have predicted oil could rise above $100 a barrel if the conflict continues. Oil prices at $70 will be welcomed by investors in oil-producing stocks, but many will be buying oil shares today to position themselves for a spike in oil prices towards $100, a level that has previously yielded bumper cash flows for companies such as BP and Shell.

However, the current oil market dynamics mean there will have to be a significant uptick in disruption to cause any lasting bid in oil prices.

“Despite the spike, the oil market wasn’t structurally tight heading into this event. Global demand remained firm, and OPEC+ had been limiting supply, but spare capacity was ample,” explained Lale Akoner, global market analyst at eToro.

“Iran, for instance, produces around 3 million barrels per day (~4% of global output), and OPEC holds roughly 4 million barrels per day in spare capacity, mostly in Saudi Arabia. That buffer significantly reduces the risk of a sustained oil price shock from isolated disruptions.”

Oil prices trading slightly negatively at the time of writing on Monday reflect the ability for oil-producing countries to ramp up output if called upon.

Entain was the FTSE 100’s top riser after BetMGM, its joint venture with MGM Resorts, increased its guidance for net revenue to $2.6bn from the previous range of $2.4bn – $2.5bn. EBITDA is now expected to be $100m.

Entain shares were over 11% higher at the time of writing.

“The latest update from Ladbrokes owner Entain revealed why the US is seen as the promised land for UK gambling outfits as its BetMGM joint venture came up trumps,” Russ Mould said.

“The momentum seen in the first three months of the year has continued into the second quarter and, from just about inching into profitability, Entain now sees a meaningful profit coming from the venture. The upgraded guidance lends credibility to its longer-term ambitions for earnings from the venture, too.”

Sunda Energy has postponed drilling of its Chuditch-2 appraisal well in Timor-Leste until the first half of 2026, citing the absence of essential logistical services that meet international safety standards.

The AIM-listed exploration company had originally planned to drill the well in the second half of 2025 through its wholly owned subsidiary SundaGas. The remote location, approximately 200 nautical miles from Timor-Leste and Northern Australia, requires specialised logistical support that meets stringent industry safety and emergency response standards.

Sunda Energy shares sank 40% after the company outlined a string of knock-on effects of the failure to secure the right services to commence drilling as previously planned.

The delay has triggered the termination of a farm-in agreement signed in April with government-owned partner TIMOR GAP, as key conditions, including a definitive rig contract, could not be fulfilled. Under the original agreement, TIMOR GAP would have increased its stake in the project, but working interests now remain unchanged, with SundaGas holding 60% and TIMOR GAP retaining 40%.

The partnership structure means SundaGas remains responsible for 80% of project costs compared to TIMOR GAP’s 20% share. However, both parties have agreed to hold further discussions on potential revised partnering arrangements on substantially similar terms.

The delays may be beneficial for Sunda over the long term if they can negotiate more favourable terms. But the short-term considerations are dominating trade on Monday.

Funding arrangements will be a concern for investors. The company does not expect to draw down further tranches from convertible loan notes agreed in April, as these were conditional on the farm-in agreement and rig contract being fully effective.

Sunda now intends to pursue alternative funding sources and has indicated it will initiate discussions with potential funding parties that have previously expressed interest in the Chuditch project and its planned gas export.

As CEO, Dr Andy Butler, alluded in his comment accompanying the update, the value still within the project hasn’t changed, but the nature of some investors’ approach to early-stage natural resource companies means they may deploy capital elsewhere while Sunda pursues other avenues.

“While this temporary delay is frustrating, the significant value to Sunda and its shareholders remains,” said Dr Andy Butler, Chief Executive Officer of Sunda.

“The sole reason that the Company has not been able to sign the rig contract and progress to drill now is the absence of viable in-country logistical services that are mutually acceptable to the joint venture partners at this time.

“We are however already working to establish a plan for timely drilling in 2026, in close liaison with TIMOR GAP and ANP, building on the extensive preparations that have been carried out to date. SundaGas remains committed, along with our partner TIMOR GAP, to the early drilling and expedited development of Chuditch. I would like to thank our shareholders for their support. The Board remains confident of being able to capture the value of the project for the benefit of all stakeholders, including our partners in Timor Leste, with whom we remain closely aligned”

NVIDIA has laid the foundations for a comprehensive strategy to establish Europe as a global leader in artificial intelligence, unveiling plans for massive infrastructure investments across the continent during its time at VivaTech in Paris last week.

The American chip giant is partnering with European governments and technology leaders to deploy more than 3,000 exaflops of NVIDIA Blackwell computing power, representing one of the largest sovereign AI infrastructure commitments in the region’s history.

Alongside showcasing NVIDIA’s arsenal of AI hardware, including the NVIDIA DGX B200 and NVIDIA RTX PRO systems in Paris, NVIDIA revealed extensive plans for their deployment across Europe.

Huang’s series of high-profile, glitzy keynotes and interviews with state leaders underscored NVIDIA’s recognition of the market potential for their chips in Europe, and NVIDIA’s founder is wasting no time in ensuring his company is at the forefront of any expansion in the region’s AI infrastructure.

National Partnerships Drive Digital Sovereignty

France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom are set to spearhead domestic AI development through strategic partnerships with technology providers including Domyn, Mistral AI, Nebius, and Nscale. These collaborations aim to strengthen digital sovereignty whilst supporting economic growth across the continent.

“Every industrial revolution begins with infrastructure. AI is the essential infrastructure of our time, just as electricity and the internet once were,” said Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s founder and CEO, during the announcement.

French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised the strategic importance of the initiative: “France is committed to investing in AI to strengthen our economy, benefit our citizens and uphold our values. By working closely with our nation’s leading technology innovators and NVIDIA, we are equipping researchers, entrepreneurs and public institutions with the tools they need to explore new ideas.”

Country-Specific Infrastructure Projects

France leads with Mistral AI’s ambitious cloud platform, powered by 18,000 NVIDIA Grace Blackwell systems in its initial phase. The project will expand across multiple sites in 2026, enabling rapid development and deployment of AI applications using optimised Mistral AI models.

The United Kingdom is collaborating with cloud partners Nebius and Nscale to deploy 14,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs across new data centres. UK Tech Secretary Peter Kyle described the initiative as vital for delivering the nation’s AI ambitions and transforming AI Growth Zones into “engines of opportunity.”

Germany will host the world’s first industrial AI cloud for European manufacturers, featuring NVIDIA DGX B200 systems and RTX PRO servers with 10,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs. This AI factory will accelerate manufacturing applications from design and engineering to factory digital twins and robotics.

Italy is advancing sovereign AI capabilities through partnerships with Domyn, which is developing its Large Colosseum reasoning model on the Colosseum supercomputer using NVIDIA Grace Blackwell Superchips.

Telecommunications Infrastructure Partnership

NVIDIA has secured partnerships with major European telecommunications providers—Orange, Fastweb, Swisscom, Telefónica, and Telenor—to develop secure, scalable AI infrastructure across the region.

Notable developments include Orange’s acceleration of enterprise-grade AI through its Cloud Avenue platform, Fastweb’s introduction of MIIA (an Italian language model), and Telefónica’s pilot of a distributed edge AI fabric across Spain with hundreds of NVIDIA GPUs.

Research and Development Expansion

The company is establishing and expanding AI technology centres across Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Finland. These centres will focus on AI skills development, research advancement, and infrastructure support for enterprises and startups.

The Bavarian AI centre in Germany will collaborate with the Bayern KI consortium on digital medicine and robotics research, whilst the UK centre will focus on embodied AI, materials science, and Earth systems modelling.

Minister Adolfo Urso of Italy’s Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy described the agreement as “a strategic step toward strengthening Italy’s technological sovereignty and ensuring that our businesses have secure and competitive access to data management.”

NVIDIA’s plans represent a significant commitment to European AI sovereignty, enabling enterprises, startups, and public sector organisations to develop and deploy AI applications securely within regional infrastructure.